I was hesitating between rating this an 8 or a 9 and then I remembered the scene where a naked young woman bangs the edge of a thick plate against her head and says, "I'm composing a song for the führer," while blood trickles down her face.
Never Look Away (Werk ohne Autor) is why I go to the cinema every day. Without this imposition, I surely would've let this long German film pass by unseen but, as it is, I witnessed this masterpiece unfold on the big screen in front of me, and now I'm imbued by its magic. German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others, 2007) continues to prove he is a master of his craft, and that English speaking countries haven't totally cornered the market on brilliant directing. Some of his scenes are so poignant they're tattooed inside of me like poems I've committed to memory.
Inspired by a true story (there's an informative, spoiler-ridden Wiki page about the film and its origins), Never Look Away has strong acting, tight plotting and breathtaking directing. I can't guarantee you the same experience as mine if you watch it on your laptop, but I can assure you that, cinematically, Never Look Away is a film in the truest sense of the word.
I'd say that the best moments were the hallucinations and the ending. I wasn't that engulfed in all the heartfelt moments, of which I imagine were the highlights of this series finale for most people. The ending itself didn't surprise me, per se, but it did hit me out of nowhere, kind of. The thought that the happily-ever-after could've been a hallucination never crossed my mind so when all of a sudden it was revealed to be exactly that, I was caught off guard a little bit but sort of realized it at the last moment before it was revealed.
After watching the previous episode, I came up with three theories as to how the cliffhanger and the ending of the finale itself would be done in the finale. Surprisingly but not really, all of them were pretty damn close. If anything, upon taking bits and pieces from all three and combining them, the result of that is closer to what happened than each theory. With one theory, I suggested that the ZIP did work and will stay that way which would've been poetic and whatnot, given that the show started and revolved around how Jane was ZIP'ed. Now, I feel a little stupid for not thinking that Jane could end up dying. It was an admirable way to conclude the show. I'll have to give the writers some credit for taking that risk, even though it wouldn't have mattered that much as this is the series finale.
All-in-all, I didn't necessarily care about this series finale. It was just a series finale that was a long time/too long a time coming of which has, at last, arrived. I didn't hate it but I didn't like, like, like it, or love, love, love it. If either one was and is the case for you, that's good. But I'm just subtly glad that this show is over. I thought that this season was the worst one and a massive step-down for the show and that the show was going downhill for some time, starting with the S3 finale ending and especially the fourth season. Again, I have to give the writers some credit for going the route they did for how this show ended. I'm just glad that the show is finished more than anything.
